Matt Johnson
The Cleveland Browns have the most crowded quarterback room in the National Football League right now with no clear starter for the 2026 season. However, early in OTAs, one passer is seemingly running away with it.
ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi reported this week that Deshaun Watson has seemingly run away with the Browns’ starting quarterback competition.
Related: Cleveland Browns Urged to Move On From Young QB
“I think he’s ahead and I don’t think he can be caught at this point of the spring period.”
Tony Grossi on Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson
It’s a bit surprising that this early in the spring, someone would have run away with a starting quarterback competition. After all, it was just a few days ago that head coach Todd Monken voiced his displeasure over “embarrassing” interceptions from the quarterbacks.
Just a few months ago, Monken was praising Shedeur Sanders publicly and talking about how much he wanted to work with the young signal-caller. At the time, it seemed like Watson really had no future in Cleveland.
However, the dynamic has seemed to change as the offseason unfolded. Suddenly, the Browns’ organization began publicly suggesting that it would be open to re-signing Watson after his contract finally expires following the season.
- Shedeur Sanders stats (2025): 56.6% completion rate, 1,400 passing yards, 7-10 TD-INT, 6.6 yards per attempt, 68.1 passer rating
It’s certainly not like Sanders performed well enough as a rookie to avoid a starting quarterback battle this summer. As noted by NFL stats from Pro Football Reference, his 18 percent Bad-Throw Rate would’ve ranked in the bottom six among starting quarterbacks, and he had one of the highest interception rates (4.7 percent) in the NFL.
Of course, it’s not like Watson has fared well as the Browns’ starting quarterback. From 2022 to 2024, he posted a 9-10 record under center with an 80.7 passer rating, 61.2 percent completion rate and a 19-12 TD-INT line across 19 starts.
Even if Watson is named the Browns’ starting quarterback for Week 1, a decision that is presumably months away, his track record in Cleveland suggests others will get a shot. With the improvements made to the offensive line and receiving corps, whoever steps in under center should perform better than what fans witnessed in the last two years.
